Project: JUDY
by 8Clarify8
Summary: [Zootopia AU] Nick, not only an archeologist but also a History professor at the esteemed University of Zootopia, has run into a falling out with the museum. He has one last chance to finish a project he never completed: A tribe deep in the Amazon that didn't develop with the rest of the world has been discovered, and now it's up to Nick to bring them into the limelight.
1. Chapter 1

**Zootopia fanfiction**

 **Genre:** Adventure, mystery, supernatural

 **Language:** English

 **Rating:** T/M

 **Pairing:** undecided

 _ **I, 8clarify8, do**_ _ **not**_ _ **own Zootopia or anything that's associated with it.  
I do not own the characters, the settings, or anything else  
that is familiar with or associated with Zootopia.  
I only own this idea.**_

I would like to formally and properly thank my friend

 _ **akafyi101**_ _ **from tumblr for helping me beta this story as well as draw Nick Wilde for me to help me get an idea of what he would look like.**_

 _ **Please review responsibly**_ _ **.**_

* * *

 **Project: JUDY**

 **J** \- Justice for all those who have been discriminated against.

 **U** \- United we stand, brothers and sisters, for our rights as equals.

 **D** \- Down with the ways of the old world view.

 **Y** \- Yieldless we will be in our fight for our right to be free.

"For this will be deemed: Project Judy."

* * *

Zootopia.

A utopia of sorts to suit every animalistic need one could ever want, find or need. With a top-notch police department teeming with officers ready to protect the peace; a mayor and assistant mayor that loved their citizens with a vigor that has yet to be matched; and generally rather friendly citizens. The metropolis was even made up of multiple climate zones to accommodate everyone.

Yes, Zootopia was indeed filled with many things: inventiveness, attentiveness, culture and history, and one of the biggest museums in the center of the city made sure to display that fact _very_ proudly.

It stood tall with ceiling's higher than the police department's entire building. The city's flag stood and was displayed proudly on top of the museum's dome, where it flapped noticeably in the wind for all passerby's to see. Great marble steps that were polished every morning at 7 a.m. sharp led up to the masses of double doors which were unlocked to the public right at 8 a.m.

The museum was well respected within the city and all those around it, serving with hundreds of exhibits on history- proudly showing lineage and heritage (even the parts that were _not_ so proud).

It was an unconventional establishment, showing both sides of a story and reminding guests that the past can be a very ugly thing. Although it was that unconventional way they did things that made it held to such high esteem.

Towards the back of the museum, just off of other primitive tribe exhibits, existed a hallway that most guest overlook- it's not very well lit, with little to no decor, there was even no plaques on the walls to show what type of exhibits would be down there (if any).

13 finished exhibits stood proud and well done, ranging from ancient relatives of the sloth to even the evolution of a toxic plant and its impact on today's society. Although… There was one exhibit, at the back of the hall, it wasn't finished. There was little information and a poorly made mask that looked like a child made it with straw and mud lay inside.

The plaque that used to shine was now covered in dust, the curved print of _Nicholas P. Wilde_ stood out as the only eligible part of it; his name proudly displayed on the 13 other exhibits as well; this last one, unfinished as it was, was going to be his crowning achievement in his career.

Some say he ran out leads, other say he ran out money.

Maybe it was both.

* * *

Not only was Nick an archaeologist, he was also a history professor at the esteemed University of Zootopia. The students loved and adored him; "He makes history fun," is what he's heard over the many years of teaching. And although he loved his students as well, they could become a little overbearing at times and make him want to scratch his eyes out so he didn't have to read their latest essay on _"How has this latest finding of a predator/prey co-operative treaty helped rewrite our history?"_

Today wasn't one of those days, however, coupling with his duties as a professor and (failing) archaeologist, the stress that had been building up inside of him over the past few months, finally met its toll. Once class had let out, Nick plopped down in his seat and buried his muzzle in his hands for a moment, removing his wire rimmed glasses before he did so. He looked over to the stack of papers he had to grade—stacked in a disheveled mess on his desk- to the newest novel he picked up at a thrift store. He inevitably reached for the package of cigarettes he hid from his students located in the bottom drawer of his desk.

Nick stood by the nearest open window, leaning over with the cigarette hanging limp from between his fingers as he watched the blurry form of students scurry home. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that his ears didn't pick up on the sound of someone entering his classroom until the heavy wooden doors slammed open- the sound echoing throughout the rather empty room.

"Wilde."

Nick spun around and looked toward the source of the sound where he saw a blurry white figure. Upon closer inspection—squinting has much as he could really—he could vaguely make out it was . . . "Raymond?" he questioned, but before said figure could reply, Nick beat him to it. "H-Hang on." He snuffed his cigarette before tossing it out the window and finding his way back to his desk. Rummaging around the surface, he found his glasses and pushed them into place. Standing in the doorway was a large polar bear.

"What are you doing here? Not that it isn't good to see an old friend- I know you can't resist my charm. Hey, how's the wife and kids? Your daughter still dating that black bear-" Nick could see the polar bear hold a paw up to silence him. The fox swallowed thickly. The bear shifted and settled back into his calm demeanor.

"I'm not here for chit chat today, Wilde. I'm here on business."

"Business?" Nick couldn't help the snort that followed as he chuckled. Raymond wasn't really the one for doing business- that was all Kevin's department, and _luckily_ Kevin wasn't around.

Raymond looked rather forlorn- and that stopped Nick in his amusement.

"Mr. Big would like to see you."

Ears perked up and green eyes blinking in bewilderment. "Mr. Big?" the fox echoed. Had he done something wrong? What could Nick have _possibly_ done to be summoned by Mr. Big? More and more thoughts about why Big would want to see him made him feel queasy, if he was summoned by Mr. Big it _couldn't_ be good. Raymond began to notice his discomfort and, to make things less complicated, tried getting Nick into motion.

" _Now,_ Nick." The bear said curtly, beginning to make his exit. Said fox removed the wire glasses from his face and rubbed at his eyes tiredly.

"I'm coming," he said hastily, then a little slower, "I'm coming." He pushed his glasses back, putting his paper's in his desk and sliding the carton of cigarettes in his breast pocket.

He straightened his black tie as he finished putting away any important documents (heaven forbid another student say he lost another one of their papers), trying to smooth down any creases that formed on his white shirt. It inevitably ended up making him look even more disheveled, though, but not from a lack of trying. And, to add to that effect, his fur was matted and bags under his eyes indicated many sleepless nights.

Back when Nick was just starting out in his archeology career, he used to be the talk of the town and every university wanted to get their paws on him. He didn't have to worry about the constant stress that lingered around him like his shadow at the time. Yet, once the leads to his last case dropped, he lost all self-confidence within himself and his career at the museum. So, to cope with his as seen "Failure", the money he earned from the museum was spent on alcohol—a drinking habit that had developed over the last few years.

Nick sighed as he met the polar bear in the hallway, stained briefcase in hand (he was so tired that morning he accidentally spilled his cup of coffee on his briefcase and ruined the papers that were inside—fortunately they weren't that important.)

As he passed the polar bear, the bear raised his eyebrows challengingly at the fox.

"Bad day at work, da?" His accent slipping through, Nick gave him an irritated glance before locking the door to his classroom.

Halfway to the front of the building, Nick suddenly paused for a moment before releasing a frustrated sigh. "What is it?" the polar bear asked, stopping.

"Nothing really," grumbled the fox, pinching the bridge of his snout. "I just forgot my blazer is all." He waved it off and continued walking. The door was locked anyway, so he could just get it tomorrow when there were no classes in session.

The polar bear chortled. "You will not need it for Mr. Big, he's seen you—"

"We _never_ speak of that," Nick interrupted through gritted teeth. The polar gave him a mocking grin. The two continued walking out of the building; a black limousine sat waiting patiently for them at the curb.

As the neared the polished vehicle, Nick could see some of the students marveling at him from the corner of his eye. His ears twitched as he could hear some murmurs and whispers of them asking each other why _he_ was being escorted by a _polar bear_ and if they knew what for.

A small sense of smugness overcame Nick and he smirked at a few them, this not going unnoticed by Raymond, who in turn just rolled his eyes and shook his head minutely. He assumed the fox didn't want his students worrying or spreading rumors—that or he _really_ liked the idea of his student's thinking he was some sort of hot shot.

Once at the limo, the door was opened for Nick and he was ushered in quickly by the hoary bear who followed suit, nearly sandwiching the poor fox between himself and the other door. Without anyone saying another word, the driver pulled out of the parking space and began driving to their designated address.

* * *

Nick shrunk back in his seat and stared doe-eyed up against the tinted black windows at the museum- a beautiful landmark for the residents of Zootopia, an ominous omen for Nick.

Once they came to a complete stop, the door he was leaning against was suddenly thrust open, causing him to fall out of the vehicle and fall flat against the mammal who had opened his door. Nick grabbed at the pant leg of the suit, pulling himself up, but paused when he looked up into the eyes of another polar bear, his entire body went rigid. The bear who opened the door was none other than Kevin. If seeing Raymond wasn't bad enough, things might have just taken a turn for the worse at the sight of _him_.

"Heh, my bad Kev. Nice… suit." Nick nervously chuckled, wiping at the polar bear's suit to remove any of his fur from it, but Kevin just growled at him, baring his teeth until Nick decided to slink out of biting range- where he stood stiff with his paws in his trousers' pockets, fingers itching to grab a cigarette from his shirt pocket.

"Mr. Big is not gonna be happy you've been keeping him waiting, Nicholas." Kevin rumbled out while Raymond clambered out from the limo.

"Please, _Nick_ is just fine." The fox said, his ears lowering in irritation against his head as he looked between the two guards. The two looked unamused at each other, Raymond turned and patted the roof of the limo, ducking his head inside.

"You're good to go, Manchas."

"Right sir," Nick could hear the jaguar say right before the door was closed. Nick looked up at the two polar bears and swallowed thickly.

"Y-you know what, I think I left my phone in the limo," he stammered, trying and failing (miserably) to mask the anxiety in his voice. "Why don't I try to get his attention?" he jammed his thumb in the direction of the disappearing limo, turning around quickly to chase after it. He hadn't taken one step, though, before one of the larger mammals grabbed him by his shirt's collar and began dragging him in the opposite direction.

Nick whimpered and struggled against them as he was dragged behind the two guards into the museum—which _conveniently_ was closed early for a routine maintenance check-up. He closed his eyes and prayed to whatever deity might be listening that he wasn't going to be killed today.

Because if there was truly anything in this world that terrified Nick the most, it was Mr. Big—the museum's owner, director, and underground mafia boss.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Review please! I love them!**_

 _ **But I will be gone for a time being and I won't be able to continue this for awhile (at least update once a month [hopefully]). Although I will try to get a second chapter up before I leave on 4/25/16! If not then look for an update around 5/20/16.**_


	2. Author's Note

_**A/N:**_ Hey there everyone, sorry to get your hopes up for an update. I'll properly be in hiatus for a while due to some complications that have arisen in my life and other projects that need my dire attention. I'll try to be back as soon as I can, but I don't expect to update any of my work till at least 2019. I'm sorry for the inconvenience and I will try to be back sooner. However, I will be working on a few stories during my time when I can manage it, so hopefully when I do come back I can update and maybe even finish a few stories.

Thanks for being awesome readers, reviewers and favoriters, and thanks for understanding.

8Calrify8


End file.
